Good morning and Happy Monday! How was your weekend? Did you manage to fit in some exercise? How was your motivation in the cold temperatures?
Speaking of cold, now that the temperature has dropped a few degrees, it will be important to try to avoid winter colds. A lot of people reach for orange juice to boost their Vitamin C intake. However drinking juice is not necessarily the best way of increasing your Vitamin C.
Instead, increase your fluid intake, eat more vegetables that are high in Vitamin C (particularly red peppers, kale and broccoli) and sleep more to help prevent colds.
Fruit juice is often in debate about whether it is healthy or not, especially for those trying to lose weight. If you want to lose weight or are struggling to keep consistent weight loss, the best advice I can give you is to avoid fruit juice. Fruit juices are high-carbohydrate and high-sugar. Even though they’re “good for you” there are better sources of nutrients with much less sugar (or none at all). Eat fruit and vegetables, don’t drink them.
But why is orange juice not ideal to be having regularly?
The key issue is a lack of fibre. When we eat fruit, the fibre forms a protective layer that acts as a barrier to the intestine, slowing down the absorption of sugar. The high sugar content obtained from the digestion of fruit juice can elevate your blood sugar levels, which in turn stimulate your pancreas to produce insulin. The more carbohydrates you eat at once, the higher your insulin levels are likely to increase. For example, your insulin levels will increase more after having a large banana and orange juice compared to after eating an egg and glass of milk, which is much lower in carbohydrate. Having other carbohydrates at the same time, such as a a slice of bread or cereal, can also further increase your insulin levels. If this blood sugar is not used for activity/body function, it may get stored as fat to use 'later'. If you are very active or not trying to lose weight, this is not generally a problem as you are using the energy that you are consuming.
Oranges themselves are an excellent source of vitamin C, just one large orange contains a full day’s dose. Vitamin C is critical for producing white blood cells and antibodies that fight off infections; it’s also a powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from free-radical damage and plays a key role in producing skin-firming collagen.
Oranges are also high in fiber and folate. They contain on average:
60 calories for one, 12.5g of sugar, 3.1g fibre
116% of your recommended intake of Vitamin C.
Compare this to orange juice:
250ml: 125 calories, 25g of sugar, 0.6g of fibre
200% of your daily recommendation of Vitamin C.
Compare this to 1 slice of wholemeal bread (which people often cut out to try to reduce carbs):
80 calories, 15g of carbohydrates, 1.5g sugar, 2g of fibre
Please do ask me any questions at all if you want to know more.
Have a